Saraneth the Binder REPOSTED COMPLETE
by random-candle
Summary: the story of the binding of orannis the first time from saraneth's POV. a good read i assure you!
1. Chapter 1: The Trial

Saraneth the Binder 

Reposted and Revised

By random-candle

_This is a re-done version of the story I did a while back. This probably won't be the last revision of this story, so keep reading. _

_Disclaimer: I own no one. They belong to Garth Nix_

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_Many years ago, before the creation as the World As We Know It, there were nine original Charters. Seven of them were good, one was evil, and one betrayed the evil and the good. The World As We Know It was created, the Evil was bound, the Betrayed forced to aid the Good, and the seven disappeared. This is where my story begins. How it ends I do not yet know, but it must be told. _

_I was one of the original nine. I had great power, and aided in the binding of the Betrayer. The people in the World As We Know It call me Saraneth. Saraneth the Binder_. 

**Part One: The Tria**l 

The marble table was a foot taller then myself, but Kibeth had lifted me so I could sit on top of it. Everyone sat around it, all except Orannis and Yrael. Quiet sobs came from the corner where Astarael sat weeping. I pitied her, yes, but none of us could be bothered to do anything about it. Mosrael stood, her long robes reaching to the floor. "Bring him in." she sad. Her expression was flat, dark circles under her eyes. 

The door opened with a deafening creak that echoed throughout the room. Through it walked a small white man, his beard stretching to his knees. He was not much taller then I. He stepped on his robes as he walked. Mosrael turned to him, her blue eyes unchanged as she watched him approach. She paced around her chair and looked to the dwarf. 

"Yrael, today, right now, let's forget your past. As equals we ask you to aid in the binding of Orannis, as we have asked before. We need your help. The entire World could rely on you this very moment." Yrael shifted his weight to his other foot. He looked up to the ceiling. 

"I cannot. I will not." 

Kibeth let out a whimper behind me and I jumped. Mosrael glared at me without turning her head. She was always watching, always criticizing. There was no escaping Mosreal's gaze. 

She looked back to him, worry lines forming in her forehead. "Yrael, this is your decision, but may I advise you, as a sister, to change your answer?" 

He suppressed his anger, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. "It stays." 

A flash of pain came across Mosrael's face. She reached up her pale white hand and placed it on the table. It was the same color as the marble. An eerie white, the same shade as bone. She tapped her fingers, and Dyrim whispered to Belgaer. I felt a tear begin to well in my eye. I turned away from Yrael. He was a criminal, but he was still our brother. 

Dyrim cleared her throat, and Mosrael's fingers paused. She looked at Yrael and said, "Yrael we cannot let you go. Your crimes were too great, and Orannis may have more of a claim on you than we thought. You will be-" she paused. "you will be locked in the cells of Mornan. Once Orannis is bound, we will decide what to do with you." 

Yrael's face stayed unchanged. Astarael let out another sob, and Ranna led Yrael back where he came. The tear rolled down my cheek, and I leapt off the table.


	2. Chapter 2: The Destroyer

Saraneth the Binder 

**Part 2: The Binding**

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Winters in the World As We Know It were cold. Often it had grown cold enough to leave a chill in the depths of ones bones for weeks at a time. Orannis had passed through the mountains, and headed for the Great Valley. He planned to destroy the World, and we planned to stop him. The last three months we had spent preparing, making spells and combining them. Belgaer and Dyrim had made the two hemispheres to bind him in. 

The road was cold under my bare feet. I had grown skinnier over the last months, my anxiety eating me away. We had just arrived in the Great Valley yesterday, but the hardest part of our long journey still lay ahead. Mosrael spent nights out under the stars, and Astarael's cries were becoming deafening. 

I slept uneasily that night, and even worse when Mosrael woke me in the middle of it. The stars were bright in the sky, but the moon was nowhere in sight. I could barely see the ground in front of me, my feet constantly running into things. 

Mosrael's long golden hair reflected the star's light, and she took my hand. "We go," she pulled me up and then walked over the where Astarael was sleeping. Dim shapes were scattered the skyline. I sighed and began to pack my bags, my blankets refused to roll up right and my bag kept getting in the way. I decided I needed a light, so I carefully reached up my hand. Usually only Mosrael and Ranna were allowed to use Free Magic, but I had created spells for my own to use. I drew the spell and bound the Free Magic in my mind. The starlight grew in my right hand, and I whispered the closing Mark. It was a dim light, but it would do. I could feel the light across my face, as if it were the wind. I rolled up my blankets and tied them to my bag. 

By the time I was done, everyone else was ready as well. I walked over to Kibeth and stood next to her. She stood tall and proud, despite many weeks hard travels, her dark skin blending into the horizon. 

Ranna walked to the front. His chestnut hair was pulled back into a crude pony-tail, and he wore long black robes that made him barely visible in the dark night. I walked over to him, took his hand, and placed my light in it. He smiled at me and raised it to his chest. His black eyes looked over us, and he said, "It is time. Orannis must be bound. We head West for two miles, then we spread in a circle around the valley. Mosrael you're at the West end. Dyrim the East, Belgaer the South, and I take the North. Kibeth you're between Belgaer and Dyrim, Astarael between Mosrael and I, and Saraneth between Mosrael and Belgaer. We will have a gap, but there is nothing we can do. We close in– Belgaer will handle the spheres. We all know what to do?" 

We all nodded sadly. It sounded easy, the way Ranna had said it. But we all knew the danger that lay ahead. We began marching slowly on, with only Ranna and my light to guide us. 

It had taken a while, but the circle was formed. We could hear Orannis laughing to himself. His deep voice sent shivers down my spine. Ranna had given the signal, and we began to close in. I could barely see my siblings in the smoke as the walked down the hill. The stars were gone, the sky a rich pink, and I could feel the sun beginning to rise. 

As we drew near, I could see Orannis's figure engrossed in the flames. One could feel the Free Magic in his words. It echoed through ones bones, like Astarael's sobs. Mosrael took my hand, and I took Belgaer's. Soon we were in a circle, our hands clasped. I felt the power, our power, surge through me. Orannis slowly looked up from his tunnel of flames. 

He had changed. His once red hair was singed a dark black, and his eyes were cloudy. He had a scar running along his neck, the tissue still raw. He screamed a high pitch scream and laughed. 

"Orannis this has gone on long enough." Mosrael said. She looked mad, which was rare for her. Her anger surged through our clasped hands and I tried to pull back. She gripped me tight, and the burning ceased. I squeezed back with relief, looking to Orannis with a deep scowl. 

"Mosrael, you cannot stop me. I have more power than you can imagine." His eyes were laughing. He looked at me and winked. I gasped in horror, my heart racing. Belgaer reached to his belt, his hand still in mine, and let loose his spheres. They flew up, above Orannis's head, two silver dots that raced through the smoke. 

Mosrael turned to Orannis, smiled, and said, "I am Mosrael, and I stand against you." She let loose the Free Magic of the spell she had made, her voice steady. After her Astarael, and then each of us, until it was my turn. I spoke, concentrating on keeping my spell. It seemed strange to me, even though I had practiced so many times. 

The marks flew into the spheres, and they bulged, pulsing with power. Belgaer gripped my hands, and Orannis stood. As the sphere grew above him, he yelled a spell. It was nothing I had heard before, and that scared me. This was what we had prepared for, but not at this magnitude. All that mattered was we kept our hands together. Orannis screamed, sealed his spell, and the spheres took him. 

I awoke, sadly, when the sun was up. My eyes hurt in the light, and as I tried to rise dizziness took me and I lied down. I sat there, my head swimming, waiting for it to clear up. I tried again, slowly, and I managed to stand. My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw. The once green valley was now desert, the crack in the earth was sealed, and my brothers and sisters lay on the ground around me. Mosrael was dead, her blood lying around her in a nearly perfect circle, a halo above her head. 

I ran to Belgaer. He was covered in blood, and his eyes stared up at me coldly. I turned around and threw up, the sound of water sloshing against the ground breaking the eerie silence that lay around. No one was moving. I was about to give up and collapse where I stood when I felt something. It was a Life, flickering but still present. I followed it, my heart quickening its pace ever so slightly. _Don't get your hopes up…_she told herself. Astarael lie a few feet away. She had a deep cut on her shoulder, but she would live. Her chest moved as she breathed. At least I wasn't going to be alone. I looked at myself. I had a deep gash in my head, and there was a hole in my stomach the size of my fist. It wasn't bleeding, but it wasn't healing either. I bent down, with great pain, and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry, sister. Do not cry for us, we will always remember you." 

I walked slowly back to our camp, my stomach aching and my heart pounding in my head. My stuff was still there, lying in a crumpled heap about the fire. I took the blanket and shredded it into smaller pieces, wrapping one around my stomach, and another around my head. It hurt, badly, but it had to be done. After I had finished and gotten over the pain, I searched through my bag. There was still food enough to travel back to Mornan, if I hurried. I took enough food to last me for a couple days, put my pack on my back, and set off for home. 


	3. Chapter 3: The Betrayer

Saraneth the Binder 

Chapter 3: The Betrayer 

_Disclaimer: I own no one. They all belong to Garth Nix. _

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I arrived at Mornan three days later. I'd spent the last few days wishing I were dead, with all my siblings. But I would force myself to remember that Astarael and Yrael were still alive, and they needed me. 

As I approached the gates a great bird flew overhead, it's silhouette moving with ease through what seemed like dense air around me. It brought another tear to my eye. I leaned against the gates, my stomach remembering as it faithfully has these last few days to protest, and they opened with a moan. I walked inside, the footsteps of my erratic limping gait echoing through the marble halls. They were too long. Gradually I reached the cells where Yrael was. My breath was becoming labored, and I could feel the gash in my head begin to open again, the blood trickling gently within my bandages. Yrael sat in the corner sleeping. I took a deep breath, hoping for the best. 

"Yrael," I said. He looked up at me and pretended to go back to sleep. I had decided what to do with him on my journey, and nothing was going to make me change my mind. The vision I had had was too strong to be just chance"Yrael wake up." He groaned and rolled over. He stood up and walked to the end of the cell opposite of me. "Yrael!" I said, my voice raised to a yell, "you're fate has been decided." 

He walked to where I was, his face unchanged. "So?" It wasn't sarcastic, just frank.

"So, you shall be bound to the service of the Children of the Seven, the Abhorsen. The Abhorsen will return the Dead to their proper place, in a world where the Dead roam free. You will serve them until you have made up for your crimes, and aid the Seven." 

My vision had told of a girl in a great river, with seven bells and a large sword that was decorated with marks foreign t o her. 

He chuckled under his breath, his white robes rippling as his body shook. I whispered the mark to unlock the door. He was already bound by a spell to keep him from fighting, but I had made another just in case. I could feel the blood dripping down my face, tickling my skin. A drop rested on my eyelashes, almost willing my eyes to close. I concentrated on making the spell to bind him to the Abhorsen, trying to force the little food in my stomach back down. I was almost done when he leapt on me, a cry of rage escaping his lips. I fired the spell of binding I had already made, and tried to keep the other one in the meanwhile, my brain trying to hard to shut down completely. He punched me hard where the hole in my stomach was, and I doubled over. I coughed, blood spraying out and staining his white robes. The spell took effect though, and he was forced to be still. The spell nearly escaped me again, but I forced myself to concentrate. I was beginning to panic. My head was bleeding freely now, and my stomach felt like it was being yanked out slowly, piece by pieve. I released the spell, and Yrael rose. There was a flash of bright light, and that was the last thing I remembered before I died. 


	4. Chapter 4: The End

Saraneth the Binder 

Part 4: The End

If you failed to do so before, I suggest once again you check out s were bright again. I smiled at their beauty, their innocence. A voice from the sky said, "Welcome, Saraneth." There was a flash of bright light and I saw my dead siblings, in appearance alive but still undecided. Mosrael, Dyrim, Belgaer, Ranna, and Kibeth. Kibeth held out her arms and I ran into them. She squeezed me hard, her dark hair tickling my cheeks, replacing the blood that had been there only a short while before. He dark skin glowed in the morning light. I let her go and stood by her. I barely stood up to her elbows.

The voice in the sky spoke again. It was a deep voice, neither male nor female. 

"You don't belong here, my children." The sound came from nowhere in particular, yet from everywhere. We bowed, and a soft breeze blew over us, sending shivers through my whole body. I saw another light, and I passed out. 

I heard the sound of the sea. It filled my every sense. A gull screamed overhead, and a foghorn sounded. I opened my eyes carefully. I was alive again, sure enough. The Charter had sent me back. My work was not done. 

I stood slowly, and found myself on all fours. I took in a deep breath, and I could smell. Oh how I could smell! My eyes were certainly a downside though. I saw in shades of black and white, but my other senses made it made up for it. Using my hearing and smell I managed to make out where I was as quickly as if I had the eyes of a hawk. I turned to look at myself. My body was the deepest shade of black, with highlights where the light reflected off it. My long tail was in an elegant curve. I walked over to a window and looked at my reflection. I saw myself and laughed. I was in the shape of a rat, yet I was beautiful. This would be fun. Rats were one of the Charter's original creations, and the Charter favored them above all else. They had a level of intelligence only matched by humans, and in some ways beyond even theirs. 

Outside there was a small city, and the ocean not far off. I turned around, and Kibeth ran to me. She was in the shape of a large black dog. She licked me with her long tongue and I sneezed. 

She turned, and I followed her gaze. All my siblings stood there. Mosrael was a large white dove, her feathers still shining in the dim light. Dyrim stood next to Belgaer. She was a great eagle. My instincts screamed at me to run, but I forced them back and continued looking around. Belgaer was a large panther, his black coat rippling as he breathed. Last stood Ranna, a great owl. His large eyes were unchanged, just as they were before he died. We smiled to each without saying a word, and all walked our seperate ways. 

We spread out, each taking a region of the World As We Know It, waiting until the Charter needed us again. 

I witnessed many things throughout my journey. I saw birds and beasts and humans. I ran through the forest aiding all of the Charter's creatures. 

It must have been a hundred years before I met up with my vision. A girl, with black hair and dark eyes, who reminded me very much of myself, crossed into my Forest. She used Charter Magic to form a spell, and I watched her soul walk into the land of the Dead. I followed her, silently and carefully so she would not notice, although stealth was not something I lacked. She stood in the Great River, her small hand grabbed her sword, and she walked, against the current, through the second gate. I looked behind me, into life, and saw a small white cat. He had a small bell around his neck. My bell. He winked, and I saw him as he was before I died. I saw Yrael. I turned back to the girl and followed her. I followed her deep into Death. 

I never saw Yrael again, nor any of my other siblings. But, I have seen the world, and now I rest. Waiting again until the day the Charter needs me. Someday. 

A/N: I have been informed some of the info in this was wrong, and quite frankly, I don't care. Thank a TON for reading, and a TON more if you review. 

Love, 

-random-candle


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